Take a Piece of my Heart With You
by FaultyStars
Summary: The flock has destroyed Itex. As Fang battles to confess his feelings to Max, Jeb finds the flock's parents, causing them to live with their true families. But Max shows that a real family isn't connected by blood, but by the experiences they've shared.
1. Saved the World

I looked out the window at the night sky. Stars were twinkling down. There were gentle snores coming from the rooms of my flock. That's right; you heard it – my flock. If you've read the MR books then you don't need the explanation. If you haven't, too bad. Go and read them.

We had just saved the world from the evil clutches of Itex. That was all good and dandy.

So we had been staying at Dr. Martinez's (A.K.A. The Best Mom Ever) house.

Ella was practically bouncing off the walls when she saw us. Everyone was so happy. I got chocolate chip cookies everyday! So here we were sleeping on the third night after saving the world.

I felt kind of twitchy. Things couldn't last this way forever right? I mean everything has been so nice and calm.

Mom and Ella were trying to teach me how to cook and I made my first successful taco today.

Nudge and Angel had gone shopping everyday so far with my Mom, buying truckloads of clothes.

Nudge had gotten me some 'appropriate clothes' in her opinion. So I had a wardrobe full of dresses, skirts, halter tops and the rest of it. What's so wrong with a pair of jeans and a top?

Iggy and Gazzy had been making bombs galore in the backyard, making two neighbors move away. My hair was still singed from getting too close to one of them yesterday.

And Fang…well he was just being Fang. Strong and silent. But he did seem much happier. I'm not sure what my feelings are for him and I don't want to know because I like life the way it is.

I shifted under the covers. It was too comfy. I think I preferred sleeping on the ground, breathing in all the smells of the forest. (Not including Gazzy's smells) I needed to get out.

I swung my legs over the bed and walked to the window. I pushed it open trying to make as little sound as possible. I could hear Nudge muttering in her sleep. The corner of my lip lifted. Talking 24/7 that one.

I climbed onto window sill and then let myself fall. The cool air whipped my face as I free fell for a few feet. My wings snapped out and beat downwards. I rose up in the air, feeling wonderful.

I accelerated up past the roof getting faster and faster till I was soaring across the sky. The feeling was amazing. I could see the house getting smaller and smaller.

I tucked my wings in and fell like stone. Everything was a blur. I could make out a dark figure standing on the roof of the house watching me.

I started to slow down getting my feet ready to slam the stranger when I recognized the face. I landed lightly next him and smiled.

"Hey Fang, I guess you needed to get out too." I said, slightly out of breath.

"Yep," Fang replied, sitting down on the roof tiles. I sat down next to him and we both gazed up at the full moon. It was a comfortable silence.

"Max?" Fang said softly. I turned to look at him, feeling kind of nervous. Why am I freaking nervous?!

"Yes?" I said, equally as quiet. The moonlight hit his pale face which looked undecided. He looked like he was struggling for words. His eyes looked nervous which was a surprise because he was almost always Mr. Emotionless.

"I just wanted to say…it's just that…Max I –" Fang mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"What is it Fang? Spit it out." I said firmly but I felt kind of edgy. He looked up and his dark eyes watched mine. They were devoid of any emotion again.

"Your hair's a mess." Fang said, eyeing my singed, messy locks.

"Jerk!" I snapped, smacking him upside on the shoulder. The corner of his mouth twitched. I jumped off the roof flew down through the open window.

I landed on the carpet and realized this wasn't my room. It was Fang's. It was mostly black but I could see some greys and his bed sheets were navy blue. I strode toward the door but noticed a notepad which was heavily scribbled on.

I picked it up. There was a title – 'How to tell Max'. I felt a jolt. What did he want to tell me? That must've been what he was going to tell me on the roof. My eyes traveled down the page but the rest of the writing was scratched out so much that I couldn't make out any words.

Frowning, I dropped the notepad onto the desk and headed off to my room quickly and quietly. Fang wouldn't be happy if he knew that I had been in his room. I climbed back into my bed and looked out at the stars.

What did Fang want to tell me? It seemed important. And most of all, why do I feel all jumpy at what he wanted to say.


	2. How to Tell Max

**I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter so I'll do it now.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters associated. James Patterson does.

**Thanks for reviewing beatlesgirl221, .Panda, Shojo-Chan and StalkerOfFang.**

**I'm on my summer holidays which is for about six weeks! So hopefully I can update every one or two days.**

**Another thing. This chapter is longer than the first. I did especially for you!**

**By the way, this is my first fan fic so go easy on me. But bring on the flames; they help me improve the story! Now onwards!**

**Fang POV – **

We saved the world. I still can't get my head wrapped around it. Even though it's supposed to be good, our lives feel kind of empty y' know.

Facing danger everyday gives you a challenge. Something to keep driving for. Now we were all safe and happy.

In a strange way, I miss running for our lives. I shook my head. All this hot, stuffy air must be making me delirious.

I kicked off the covers of my bed. A bed?! I know, it's been ages since I've slept in one of those. I got up and walked over to my desk. I saw a notepad covered in my messy scrawl.

I picked it up and sighed. How do I tell Max I love her? I need to tell her soon while we're all safe. I need to do it before I lose my chance. Even if she didn't love me back. I needed her to know.

I'm taking Angel's advice. (I know, taking advice on your love life from a six-year-old? What were you thinking Fang?) Instead of kissing her suddenly, I'm gonna do it right.

I squinted at the different lines I had written on my notepad to tell her I love her. Pathetic. I scribbled them all out.

The best words were supposed to come from your heart right? The only person I could ask for advice was from Iggy. And Iggy wasn't very reliable.

**Flashback**

Iggy and I were in a tree changing watch while the rest of the flock slept.

"Iggy?" I said.

"Ugh, Fang." Iggy grunted, "I was just about to fall asleep." I rolled my eyes but remembered Iggy couldn't see.

"I'm rolling my eyes Iggy." Iggy smirked and sat up. "What is it?"

I hesitated then said, "How do you tell someone you love them?"

Iggy put on a devious grin and swung around the tree, landing on my branch with perfect accuracy. How the hell he does that beats me.

"Ah, the language of love. You're finally becoming a man Fang."

I kicked him in the shin. "Don't give me that crap Iggy." I said darkly.

Iggy seemed to sense my mood so he said, "So you want to tell Max how you feel about her."

"What!" I said defensively, "I never said anything about Max!" Iggy gave me a 'no-duh' look with his sightless eyes.

"You've got to be kidding Fang! Everyone knows you like Max." I looked down at Max twitching in her sleep a few branches below us.

"Everyone but Max knows." I frowned.

"Okay you really want to tell her you love her?" Iggy asked, his eyelids drooping with tiredness.

"Yes,"

"Well you go up close to her," Iggy put his face inches from mine, "And say I love you." Iggy finished then collapsed into my lap snoring away. I sat there feeling stupid.

**End of Flashback**

I slumped my head on the desk and listened to the sounds around me. Nudge was babbling on about nail polish in her sleep. I heard her say "ZOMG!" I rolled my eyes. What does the freaking 'Z' mean?

Snoring was coming from Iggy and Gazzy's room. I heard a faint screech from Max's room. She must be opening the window to go for a flight.

I took a glance at my notepad and opened the window. Maybe I'll try telling her how I feel about her now.

My jet black wings snapped out. I rose up to the roof and landed on it.

I watched Max streak across the sky with her brown, sun-streaked hair streaming behind her. It was beautiful. She started falling back down to the house.

She spotted me and got her feet out ready to kick me. I was about to step out of the way when she recognized me and landed beside me.

"Hey Fang, I guess you needed to get out too." Max said, getting her breath back.

"Yep," I replied. I sat down on the roof tiles. Max followed. We both gazed up at the moon. It was so peaceful. I had the urge to take her hand and hold it. Get it together Fang.

"Max?" I said softly. Ugh, I sound emotional. She turned to look at me, her chocolate brown eyes locked onto mine.

"Yes," She replied. Her eyes looked nervous. I tried to search for the words to tell her I loved her but I was distracted, looking at her face. My composed mask was slipping off.

"I just wanted to say…It's just that…Max I-" I mumbled stupidly. I quickly looked down at my hands.

"What is it Fang? Spit it out." She said in a tone that was trying to be confident. But I knew her too well. She sounded nervous underneath.

I made my face go blank and looked up at her. My mask was back again. I couldn't tell her I loved her now. I'm not ready yet. I quickly searched for something to say. I spotted her untidy, burnt hair.

"Your hair's a mess." I said.

"Jerk!" She said, smacking me on the shoulder. I fought a smile as she jumped off the roof to go back to her room.

I put my hands behind my head and stared up at the sky. Why couldn't the right words just fall out of the sky? I leapt off the roof and flapped my wings. I flew off into the distance.


	3. Christmas

**Lucky you guys. I wrote two chapters in one day so I'm updating twice. Please keep the reviews coming. It gives me the motivation to write!**

**I've been writing all these chapters on paper so they come up a lot shorter on the computer. I'll try to keep writing chapters frequently. Anyway, it's time to go on with the story.**

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**Max's POV**

It's Christmas morning. Now the flock and I aren't very religious but we still give presents and stuff on Christmas. I got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Looks like I'm the first person up. As I drank, I heard a small yawn and the shuffle of slippers on carpet.

"Good morning Max," Gazzy yawned, smiling at me with his big, blue eyes.

"Merry Christmas sweetie." I said, ruffling his blonde hair. A minute later, Angel walked in, her blonde curls bouncing. I gave her a big hug. Then Fang and Iggy walked in sleepily.

"Good morning guys." I beamed.

"You seem happy." Iggy pointed out.

"No duh, it's Christmas." I said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah…" Iggy realized. Fang exchanged an exasperated look with me. Then he smiled unexpectedly. I smiled widely and looked away, trying to ignore my thudding heart. Predictably, Nudge trudged in last. She was in high spirits.

"ZOMG! It's Christmas! I can't wait to see what I got! Gazzy, you'd better not be giving me another action figure. I think that's what _you_ want, not what I want. Fang, that photo album that you got me last year was pretty but it's kind of pointless because I don't even have a camera." At this point I tuned out the Nudge Channel. Ella came in smiling,

"Merry Christmas you guys." I gave my little sister a hug. "Mum's at work today unfortunately but she's coming around lunch time."

I was a bit disappointed but then I said brightly, "Let's open our presents!" Nudge, Angel and Gazzy sprinted to the Christmas tree happily. The rest of us followed.

The Christmas tree, in my opinion, was over-decorated. Every branch had at least en different things hanging off it. Well that's what happens when you leave the flock with six ginormous boxes of Christmas decorations. Below the tree were mountains of presents. The flock proceeded to find their pile and rip the wrapping apart. I found my pile of five presents.

Nudge and Ella had bought me a deluxe make-up kit. I don't know what they thought I would do with it because I, Maximum Ride, DO NOT wear make up. Angel had gotten me a pretty golden charm bracelet. I wore it around my wrist. Mum had made me a humungous tin of chocolate-chip cookies. My favourite!

I held up Iggy and Gazzy's present cautiously and put it against my ear. No ticking. Good. You can never be sure when those two have planted a bomb somewhere unexpected. I ripped off the wrapping and found lots of firecrackers and a ton of chocolate. I looked up and saw Iggy blushing as Ella gave him a hug for his present. I fought back a laugh.

Something brushed my leg. I turned to see Total with the new collar I had gotten him in his mouth. He dropped it on the ground and said, "Thanks Max. I'm sure to catch Akila's attention now. Can you please put it on for me?" I grinned, removing his old, worn, dirt-colored collar and replaced it with the new, flashy, green one. He trotted off to sit beside Angel.

I had one more present to open. Fang's. I carefully took the paper off, cursing my trembling fingers. Inside was a beautiful necklace. It had a silver chain and the pendant was a pair of pure black wings. Just like Fang's. I swallowed hard, trying not to tear up. Was not saving the world anymore making me soft?

I composed myself and walked over to Fang. He was putting on a black jacket which he had gotten from my Mum. I sat beside him. "Thanks for the photo." Fang said in his deep voice, indicating what I had gotten him. It was a photo of both of us, just after we had escaped the School with Jeb. We were both laughing happily. That seemed like a lifetime ago. I hadn't seen Fang that happy in a long time. The photo was in a black frame with 'Best Friends' engraved on the bottom in silver writing.

I took out the winged necklace and let it swing from my hand. "Thanks for the necklace." I muttered. "Here, I'll help you put it on." Fang said, giving me one of his rare, special smiles which took my breath away. I vaguely nodded and lifted my hair.

He put the necklace around my neck. His fingers were trembling but his face was calm. My skin tingled at the places he touched it. He finished and looked over at Ella and Iggy who were giggling and blushing. His expression changed to a stone hard one.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He just shook his head, looking away. I patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "You don't have to be so closed off all the time."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. I turned away, blushing. I took a peek at Fang. His cheeks were a faint pink color and his eyes looked kind of happy. I started collecting all the wrapping paper with a smile on my face.

I think I'm starting to like Christmas a lot.


	4. It's Snowing

**Okay this is my favourite chapter so far. Something interesting happens near the end and there's some Fax for ya at the end.**

**It's longer than my other chapters. And one more thing: Please, please, please review! I won't do what other people do and kill Fang or something. I could never do that! But still, every review helps a lot, even if you don't feel like it does. Anyway, read the story!**

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**Max's POV –**

"I told you Fang loves you!" Angel's voice chimed in my head.

"Angel, it's not like that. Fang and I are best friends. That's all." I tried to tell her.

"You love him too!" Angel insisted, practically shouting in my head.

"No, no. It was just a peck on the cheek. It doesn't mean anything!" I said.

Angel and I were communicating telepathically while Iggy was making lunch. She had noticed the exchange between me and Fang earlier today and was trying to convince me that Fang and I were more than friends.

I frowned at Angel and she gave me a sweet, angelic smile back. That kid sure knows how to make someone feel guilty. I went over to her and gave her a hug.

"Could you please just drop the subject for now?" I whispered pleadingly. She nodded and smiled like the good little, mutant, bird-kid she was. I heard the click of a lock.

Mum walked in with a big smile, "Merry Christmas girls."

"Merry Christmas," Angel and I chorused.

"Where is everyone else?" Mum asked.

Before I could answer, Iggy shouted out, "Lunch is ready!"

"Well, in about ten seconds, everyone will be in the kitchen." Angel said brightly. That's my girl. The three of us strode into the kitchen where the rest of the flock were already assembled. We took our seats and Iggy started serving the soups.

We consumed our soups in silence for a few minutes, then Ella said, "You're and amazing cook Iggy." Iggy blushed and spilled soup down his shirt. Fang and I snorted.

Mum ignored us and said, "Where did you learn how to cook Iggy?"

Iggy grinned, "Well, the need arose once we found out that Max was terrible at it." I sent him a wasted death glare. Fang chuckled so I sent him one too which fortunately wasn't wasted.

We began our own small conversations but occasionally I heard Max-is-a-terrible-cook jibes from Iggy, earning him several more death glares. Seriously, his head should be Swiss cheese after all the holes I would've burnt into his skull with my death glares.

When we were finished eating, Mum announced, "We'll be going to a formal, Christmas, dinner party at six thirty. You'll have to wear dresses and suits. And you'll have to dance." Ella, Nudge and Angel squealed in delight. I groaned.

Mum put a hand on my shoulder and said, "I'm sorry Max, but you have to. Oh, and Jeb's coming." I was mentally banging my head against a wall. A total nightmare. Dresses, dancing, Jeb. Grr.

Why did we have to save the world just before Christmas? Fang smirked at me. I glowered back then burst into laughter. Fang raised his eyebrows.

"Fang," I sniggered, "In a suit? This I've gotta see!" Fang shrugged and loped off.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Angel and I were lounging on the couch aimlessly. Nudge and Ella were already getting ready for the dinner. Why did the need four freaking hours?!

Iggy and Gazzy were making a smoke bomb in the backyard, judging by the thick, grey cloud hovering outside. I wonder where Fang is… I felt a tug on my sleeve.

"Max, it's snowing." Angel whispered in awe. She was pointing through the front window. Sparkling snowflakes drifted slowly to the white blanket of snow on the ground.

"It's beautiful," Angel laughed. Even though it wasn't the best condition to fly in, I had to admit, Angel was right. It _was_ beautiful. A figure walked past the front window and opened the door. It was Jeb.

"Hello Max and Angel." He said politely.

"Hi Jeb," I said stiffly, letting him walk past. I still didn't trust Jeb, even though he helped up destroy Itex. I heard him talking intently with Mum in the study.

"What's Jeb talking about Angel?" I asked.

"Oh, there's some news they're going to tell us after the dinner." Angel replied, looking at me. She bit her lip.

"Is it something bad sweetie?" I said anxiously.

She shook her head, "It's not _bad_, but……..the boys are coming." I gave her a confused look but she smiled reassuringly. Whatever, I'll find out later. Gazzy came bounding to us with an excited look, followed by a grinning Iggy and an amused Fang.

"It's snowing!" Gazzy exclaimed, "Can we play in the snow Max?"

"Sure sweetie. Everyone wear something warm and meet me outside." The boys left. I grabbed a jacket and helped Angel put on her coat and boots. We both trudged outside.

There wasn't much of a breeze. Iggy, Gazzy and Fang were building a snowman. I grinned and bent down to gather some snow. I aimed and fired the snowball. Whack! It hit the back of Fang's neck.

I pretended to be fixing Angel's coat as Fang turned around but he wasn't fooled.

"You know this means war!" Fang declared. He held up two snowballs. I darted behind Iggy and Gazzy just as Fang launched the snowballs. Double whack! Iggy and Gazzy were standing there with snow covered faces.

They took one look at Fang and one look at me and yelled, "SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

For the next twenty minutes, snow was flying everywhere. Angel and I were on a team against the guys. You may be thinking that it's unfair because we have less people and Angel is tiny.

Don't underestimate Angel.

She can read minds, which is a huge advantage. Iggy and Gazzy developed a system. Gazzy made piles of snowballs while Iggy pelted them at us. Though he can't see, he could hear us really well. One of their snowballs hit Angel's wing so I grabbed her and ran behind some bushes.

"Fang's coming at your left." Angel informed me. I walked out to greet him. He gave me a cold, hard look and I gave him one back. I started ditching snowballs at him. Fang jumped and dodged all of them. I huffed in frustration.

He started throwing snowballs at me. I dodged all of them and did a karate chop on the last one. We were evenly matched. Our steps were so quick, light and in sync that it looked like a dance.

It got faster and closer. The heat was building up. Even Iggy, Gazzy and Angel stopped to watch.

Finally I flung three snowballs at him, two of which he dodged but the third one hit his forehead.

Fang put his hands up, "Fine, you win." He admitted, his jaw tight. I grinned and moved forward to brush the snow out of his hair. Suddenly a massive snowball (probably from Iggy) hit me in the back, pushing me forward into Fang.

Fang who wasn't expecting it, tripped, making us both fall to the ground. I was lying on top of him. We took one look at each other and burst out laughing. I laid my head on his chest as we laughed.

Eventually the laughter died away. I listened to his steady breathing. It was nice. My cheeks started to burn as I noticed how close we were. I tried to get up hastily but made the mistake of looking into his eyes.

His obsidian eyes held an emotion I didn't recognize. They were endless pools which I could stare into forever. And for once, they were warm and inviting. He placed his hand on my cheek, passing an electric current through me.

I felt his warm, minty breath on my face. I leaned closer till our lips were an inch apart. My heart raced. I tangled one hand into his shaggy, black hair with snowflakes sprinkled in it. It tangled in his hair. But my other hand did something of its own accord.

It stuffed a handful of snow into his mouth. I leaned back and the confused look on his face mirrored mine. I bit my lip, undecided, gave him a swift kiss on the forehead and ran back to the house.


	5. Torture

**Hey everyone. I like this chapter quite a lot. It's a tie for my favourite with Chapter 4.**

**My Mum and brothers are getting a bit annoyed because I'm always writing or on the computer typing the stories up. But my Dad doesn't mind. He thinks it's pretty cool that I'm writing something that people all over the can read and review. Good on you Dad!**

**By the way, if you're confused: Max, Fang, Iggy–16; Ella–15; Nudge–13; Gazzy–10; Angel-8.**

**Oh yeah, sorry I forgot to put the telepathic communication between Angel and Max in italics. My head was off in la-la land.**

**One more thing, Merry Christmas everyone!**

**Here's the link for Max's dress: **

.com/image/pretty%20blue%

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**Max's POV – **

I was running through the snow, away from Fang. My heart was pounding. Did I just almost kiss Fang?

His eyes were so dreamy- no Max! Snap out of it. Fang is your best friend. You can't kiss him and ruin you friendship. Why did I even do that?

'_Maybe you like him. Maybe Angel is right.' _The logical side of m e said. **(A.N. This isn't the voice. The voice was gone when the flock saved the world.)** Ugh, no! I do not like Fang!

Nevertheless, I took a peek behind me to see Fang's dark, strong figure standing out from the snow with his back to me. I had no idea what Fang was feeling now. Maybe he hated me. Maybe he was wondering why I almost kissed him.

'_Maybe he didn't mind being kissed.' _The logical side put in. I started to deny this but remembered how Fang's eyes became more inviting. I was probably imagining it.

Part of me wanted to go back to Fang and see if he was alright. The other part was screaming, _'Why do you even care? You know he's tough.'_

"Because I love him."

The words slipped out of my mouth. I clapped a hand over it, feeling horrified. I sprinted back to the house before I did something stupid. Angel was waiting for me against the door frame.

"Don't say a word Angel." I said quickly.

Angel pouted, sticking out her bottom lip in a way which looked adorable. I immediately felt guilty but didn't say anything. She had to learn to respect people's privacy.

I climbed up the stairs to be greeted by Nudge and Ella. Nudge was wearing a knee-length purple dress. It had a black, satin bow around the middle. Her unruly hair was sleeked back into a bun. Ella was wearing a bright, green dress. It came together at the waist and flowed out to her mid-thighs. Her hair was out and she had a matching green beret in it.

"Okay Max, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Ella said sweetly and nodded at Nudge who said, "Please, please, please let us do your hair and make up Max. We already picked out a gorgeous dress for you. I mean you don't want to go to the party looking drab do you?"

Then both of them gave me bambi eyes. Of course I gave in.

"Great, now why did you have to go have a snowball fight just before your makeover?" Ella scolded, "You're dripping wet. Go have a hot shower while we dress Angel."

"Okay Mum," I replied dryly.

I went to the bathroom, stripped off my clothes and took a steaming, hot shower. It felt really nice because I was freezing after the snow fight. It also helped to clear my mind about Fang. I quickly dried off and went to Ella's room.

Angel was wearing a baby blue dress. She looked so cute. She was pouting as Ella brushed her hair, "I know pink's your favourite colour Angel but this dress brings out the colour of your eyes." Ella said soothingly.

Nudge spotted me and began blow-drying my hair. She then straightened it. She shoved a dress into my hands and ordered me to go to my room and change. I stumbled to my room and took my first look at the dress.

It was beautiful. I was shocked that I though such a girly thought but I shrugged. It was pretty. I quickly put it on and looked at myself in the mirror.

It was a medium blue. The dress was off the shoulders. It was held up with a strap that crossed my chest and went around the back of my neck. The dress clung tightly to my frame. At my waist, it flowed out to my knees. The bottom edge was wavy. The sleeves started halfway above my elbow and went down to my wrists. It kind of looked like the old-fashioned, Cinderella dresses but I still liked it. Though I preferred jeans and a top, I didn't mind wearing this for one night.

I picture Fang's face when he saw me. Stop thinking of him Max! **(A.N. Aww, Max is in love! Sorry for interrupting.) **I walked back to Ella's room. Ella, Nudge and Angel gaped at me.

"Um, ta-da!" I said uncertainly.

There was silence. Then Angel said, "You look so pretty!" Ella nodded in agreement which made me grin sheepishly.

"Oooh yes!" Nudge squealed, "You look at least eighteen. The blue totally compliments your chocolate brown eyes. Fang will love it!"

"What did you say?" I hissed, my eyes flashing dangerously.

"Nothing," Nudge said nervously.

I looked down and said with a small smile, "Do I really look nice?"

"Pretty,"

"Stunning,"

"Gorgeous,"

"Beautiful," Said a deep voice from outside the closed door, "You always do." I froze.

"Aww, that's so sweet," I heard Ella say.

Nudge ran over to the door, locked it and shouted, "Fang, get lost! You can't see her yet! If you come in, I'll get Max to kick your butt into next week."

Fang chuckled and his footsteps died away. Nudge set to work on my face while Ella painted my nails blue. Angel watched them.

My head was spinning. Did Fang really mean what he said? Did that mean he had feelings for me? Well a friend could say that to a friend right? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Angel roll her eyes.

Nudge put lip gloss, blush and mascara on me. She tried to put eye shadow on me but I told her that I looked ridiculous enough already.

She finished and said, "I'll be back. I've just go to do something." She winked at Ella and Angel, grabbed something blue and rushed out of the door. I gave Ella and Angel a puzzled look but they just giggled. Ella did my hair.

She pulled some of my hair into a ponytail and left the rest down. A few strands framed my face. She tied it with a big, blue ribbon at the back and handed me some blue high-heels.

I frowned at her, "How do you expect me to walk in these, let alone dance in them."

Ella shrugged and said, "It's not that hard." I slipped them on anyway. Nudge came back, looked at me and said, "Perfect," I tried to stand up but toppled over onto the bed. Ella and Nudge exchange worried looks.

"We can't teach her to walk in heels in one hour." Ella said.

"Please don't make me wear these." I added.

Nudge looked at me and nodded, "Okay, wear these." Nudge tossed me a pair of blue flats. I gave her a grateful look.

"ZOMG! I forgot to do my nails!" Nudge exclaimed.

Ella raced around the room looking for purple nail polish. I left them to it. I started to go downstairs. I was brushing off a piece of dust on my sleeve so I didn't pay attention to the stairs. I tripped on Celeste. I let out a small cry, not wanting to ruin Nudge and Ella's work but strong arms caught me. I looked up to see Fang. My heart skipped a beat.

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***Cackles evilly* A cliffy for you. Oh the link for Max's dress didn't come out right. If you want to see it, the link is on my profile! I promise I'll update very soon!**


	6. Acceptance

**I'm am sooooooo sorry everyone who is reading my story. It's been so busy and hectic because of the New Year and stuff that I haven't been able to post.**

**This chapter's a bit short and I didn't like it as much as the others but I had to put it in because of the cliffy last chapter.**

**Anyway, I have the next chapter almost done so I will post soon.**

**Happy new year everyone! It's 2010!**

**Fang's POV**

Ugh, I hate suits. They're so stiff. I shuffled over to my drawer and opened it. Where was my tie? Right on cue, Nudge pranced in holding a blue tie.

"Fang, you have to wear _this_ tie." She said, giving it to me.

"Why?" I asked.

Nudge grinned, "Because I say so. You'll find out soon enough."

With that she left. I shrugged and put it on. It was tight, almost choking. The sooner this dinner party's over, the sooner I can get out of this.

Max probably has it ten times as worse than me. I chuckled at the thought. I walked out of my room and heard Ella say, "We can't teach her to walk in heels in one hour."

Then I heard Max beg, "Please don't make me wear these." I grinned and walked down the stairs. Poor Max. I leaned against the railing. Someone was coming down the stairs. The person yelped so I turned to see who it was. Max fell into my arms. I caught her around the waist.

Man, she was beautiful. I always knew she was, but today she really showed it. She looked like a completely different person. Her usually messy, dirt-matted hair was straight and fell around her face and on her shoulders.

Her dress looked like it was made for her. I realized that her dress was the same shade of blue as my tie. Nudge had given me the tie so we could match. It was true. We did match. We belonged together. Why couldn't Max see that?

Crap, I'm starting to sound all lovey-dovey. I looked into her chocolate eyes which were framed by her long eyelashes. I tried to hide my emotions but her fierce gaze melted the mask away. My hands were still around her waist. I didn't want to let go.

**Max's POV**

They say that the eyes are a window to soul or something like that. That was never the case for Fang. He hid his emotions so well that even me, his best friend couldn't read this.

But right now, it was like his heart was pouring out every emotion to me. He looked so happy. And as our gazes locked, the same electricity as in the snow was there. I couldn't look away. I had to accept that I loved him more than a sibling.

He was the only one who knew me inside out. The only one who I couldn't hide my feelings from. The only one who I could ever trust completely. How could I not love him?

But I had to keep things the way they were. Just friends. I didn't want things to go wrong. I didn't want either of us to get hurt. Physical pain I could deal with. Emotional pain…not so well.

His shaggy, black hair almost reached his shoulders. He wore a crisp, black suit which fitted him well. A white shirt was stretched over his muscled chest. I leaned in closer unconsciously, inhaling his scent. Pine and mint. He looked so perfect right now.

What are you doing Max? Get away before you're in too deep. But I couldn't tear my eyes away. I couldn't move. There was a loud growl from upstairs, followed by giggles. Fang and I sprang apart. A blush rose to my face and Fang's eyes became blank as we snapped out of our trances.

"Um, I-I'd better see what's going on upstairs." I mumbled and dashed upstairs. Talk about awkward. I opened Ella's door and found Nudge glaring at a giggling Ella. Angel was giving me and all-knowing smile from her spot on the bed. No doubt she knew exactly what happened downstairs.

I grimaced and asked Nudge, "What happened?"

"Ella spilled nail polish all over my hand." Nudge whined, holding up her purple, dripping hand. I almost laughed but I ushered Nudge off to the bathroom to wash it off. She dragged Ella with her.

I sat on the bed next to Angel and looked at my hands. I felt like a naughty child that had to confess to a parent. Ironic.

"Do you know what Fang was thinking when he saw you?" Angel asked.

I rolled my eyes, "How am I supposed to know?" I said feeling nervous but curious.

"He thought you were beautiful."

"No, he didn't think that." I denied but I was glowing with pleasure inside. I got off the bed, exited the room and went downstairs. It was a bit hard to move in the tight dress.

Mum met me at the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing a long, black dress. Her eyes widened when she saw me and pulled me into a hug.

"Oh honey you look beautiful." She cooed. I pulled back to see her twinkling eyes. I grinned sheepishly as she let go of me.

"You should wear dresses more often." She teased. I scowled and she said, "Only joking."

She patted me on the shoulder and shouted through the house, "Everyone at the car in five minutes."

I followed her to the garage where her car and Jeb's car were parked. I leaned on Mum's white sedan. I was not riding with Jeb. The rest of the flock wandered outside. Gazzy was in a mini suit.

He looked so adorable. I restrained myself from ruffling his carefully brushed hair (probably done by Mum) and pressed his collar down instead. He was still my little trooper.

Last came Jeb and Ella, chatting animatedly. I frowned as Jeb locked the door. How could Ella get along with Jeb so easily? But then again, she wasn't the one who was donated by Jeb for experimentation.

All the girls clambered into Mum's car while the guys got into Jeb's car. The excitement for the party was building up as we drove. Occasionally the girls would burst into giggles for no reason at all. Their eagerness was even rubbing off me!

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**Phew! That was hard work! Enjoy! (Hey, I'm putting exclamation marks after every phrase!)**


	7. The Dance

**Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated for a couple of weeks. I've been really distracted with things going on.**

**To make up for it, this is the longest chapter so far. And the next one will be quite long too.**

**I've got 15 reviews so far so I'd really appreciate some more. Either way, I'll still write this story.**

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**Max's POV**

I stepped out of the car and looked at the building in front of me. Everything about it screamed rich! There were giant, white, Greek columns. It was three storeys high and a fountain bubbled in the rose garden. It's not like I have anything against rich people. It's just that they tend to spend money on unnecessary stuff.

"This is Mrs. Collins' house. She's the financial support for my veterinary clinic." Mum told me, putting her keys in her purse. Jeb's car pulled up and everyone else came out. We walked up the winding path to the door. Christmas songs were blaring from the mansion.

"It's a bit over the top." I said, eyeing a massive marquee adorned with lights.

"Yeah," Ella agreed, "Last time Mum and I came here, we had to eat lobsters."

"Well Mrs. Collins is a nice lady. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to start my clinic." Mum said but Ella mouthed 'lobsters' to me behind her back. We walked past a pond full of colourful fish.

Nudge and Angel were looking curiously into the pond. Iggy and Gazzy were fantasizing about blowing up the mansion because Mum had forbidden bombs. Ella was talking to Jeb again, making me grit my teeth.

Fang, not surprisingly was walking along silently. We reached the door and Jeb rang the doorbell. A butler opened the door and let us in. We were in a big hall full of people.

Immediately I felt claustrophobic. My heart started to beat faster as the flock disappeared in the crowd. Cold sweat trickled down my neck. I blinked back tears. I turned to run back out the door but Fang caught my hand.

He rubbed soothing circles with his thumb. He seemed a little twitchy but he stared at me intently. I calmed down and gave him a grateful grin. He nodded and let go. Mum came and pulled us over to a long table at the side of the room laden with food.

"This is Mrs. Collins." Mum said, gesturing to a blonde lady wearing a red dress, heavy make-up and lots of jewelry. I'm sure someone like Nudge could've described her better but hey this is all you get from my head.

"Ah, you must be Maximum Ride." She said with a sugary smile, kissing me on each cheek. She looked me up and down, evidently impressed.

"You have been on the news so frequently. It's nice to see you are wearing some proper attire." I almost rolled my eyes. She was probably referring to the dirty, bloodstained clothes that I normally wear when we were on the run. Mrs. Collins turned her attention to Fang.

"And you must be…oh yes…._Fang_." She said in distaste. She shook his hand quickly and let go. I glanced at Fang who had a bored look on his face and grinned. Fang wasn't that bad a name was it?

Mrs. Collins brought a guy about our age to the table. He had straw coloured hair, hazel eyes and was wearing a grey suit.

"This is my son Matthew. I'll let you get acquainted then." Mrs. Collins said winking and waltzed away. I sat down with Fang on my right and Matthew opposite me. Matt ignored Fang and flashed me a brilliant smile.

"So you're Maximum Ride."

"Call me Max. And this is my best friend Fang." I said evidently bring Fang into the conversation.

"Yo," Fang said. Matt nodded politely and turned back to me.

"Do you really have wings Max? Can I see them?"

"No," I said curtly, "It would tear my dress and probably would knock out anyone in a 15-feet vicinity." Matt just opened his mouth dumbly.

He quickly recovered and said, "You'll be coming to the same high school as me won't you? I can show you around and we can hang out at lunch –"

"Um…since I've only been to school for a few weeks in my life, I'm going to a 'special school'." I interjected.

"Oh," Was all he could say. This guy was starting to annoy me.

"Maybe he needs to go to a special school too." I muttered under my breath. Fang gave me a grin which made my heart race. Matt watched our exchange with narrowed eyes.

"Well my Mum always has parties like this so I can see you. I can show you around the house. Like a private tour. We have a pool so we could go swimming one time –"

"Do you want to dance?" Fang asked unexpectedly. I nodded and got up, sparing Matt a glance. He looked hurt, making me feel a twinge of guilt. I shook it off.

We walked over to the dance floor where couples were waltzing about. Normally I'd be running in the opposite direction of the dance floor but I had to get away from that Matt guy. He was creeping me out.

Fang moved to stand in front to me. Instantly my cheeks started to heat up and my heart beat quickened. He took my hand and placed his other hand on my waist lightly, without looking at me.

I put my left hand on his shoulder. I was shaking inside but didn't show it in my face.

"Don't blame me if you lose a few toes. I have two left feet." A ghost of a grin flitted across Fang's lips as he pulled me side to side in a simple two-step. We stepped in time with the music. We went around in circles slowly, weaving through the crowd.

I spotted Gazzy at the food table, cramming an éclair into his mouth. Nudge was chatting animatedly with Mum. Ella and Iggy were gliding across the floor doing complicated steps with Ella blushing furiously. Where does Iggy learn this stuff?

Angel was watching the twirling dancers looking kind of lonely without Total by her side. That reminded me that Total was at home probably grumbling to himself. Mum had told us that strictly no pets were allowed. Of course the word 'pets' sent Total into and angry fit. Poor Total.

I looked up at Fang. He was absently playing with my fingers. He looked more serene than I had seen him in a long time. He sensed my gaze and caught it. I smiled quickly and looked away, determined not to get trapped in his eyes.

I felt so calm and peaceful. I closed my eyes, letting the music take over. I wished I could rest my head on Fang's chest. But I didn't want to make my life more complicated than it already was. Being a mutant bird-kid and all.

**Fang's POV**

I looked down at Max. Her eyes were closed. She seemed so relaxed and content. She looked much younger. Usually she's tense every minute of the day. The song finished. Max slowly opened her eyes and I saw a hint of reluctance in them. Iggy and Ella drifted towards us.

"May I have this next dance?" Iggy asked, bowing to Max with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Why not?" Max said, letting go of my hand. Ella gave me and apologetic glance and went to another guy. Probably someone from her school. I shrugged and walked over to Angel.

She gave me a bright smile as I sat beside her. She looked over at Jeb and Dr. M talking in low voices. Then she unexpectedly gave me a hug.

"I love you," She said. I raised my eyebrows but put an arm around her. Immediately she gave me a smile and walked over to Nudge. Weird kid.

'_I heard that!'_ Angel's voice echoed through my head. **(A.N. Angel's strange behavior will be explained in the next chapter.) **I chuckled and looked at Max. She was irritated because Iggy was doing a very complicated sequence, making her look clumsy.

I chuckled again. Leave it to Iggy to find a way to get on Max's nerves, no matter what she was doing. Max's face became more and more frustrated until she finally stomped on Iggy's foot with all her strength. And Max has a _lot_ of strength.

Iggy yelped and Max had a look of grim satisfaction. Iggy hopped over to me with Max following. How the hell did Iggy know where I was? Anyway, Iggy collapsed in a chair next to me and Max stood in front us, arms crossed.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Iggy sighed, wiggling his foot. Max rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I have mad dancing skills and everything but that's no reason for murder." Iggy continued.

"Murder?" Max asked skeptically.

"Yeah, you murdered my foot." I chuckled and Max gave me a shut-up-or-I-will-kill-you look which would have scared the socks off anyone but me. But for some reason it softened and she looked away. Strange.

I spotted Matt the moron walking towards us behind Max's back. He tapped Max on the shoulder.

"Do you want to dance?" He had a pleading look on his face. Anger boiled up inside me but I didn't change from my stony expression. Max was torn – whether to get away from the jerk or make up for ditching him to dance with me. I could read her face so well. Her jaw set so I knew she had decided.

"Okay," Max muttered. She let herself get towed into the crowd by and over-excited Matt.

"He sounded desperate." Iggy noted. I growled in response. He turned his head, his sightless eyes pin-pointing my face.

"Chill out, your pulse is through the roof." I took a deep breath and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets. I felt something and pulled it out. It was a charm for the bracelet Angel gave Max.

Oh yeah, the one I was supposed to give to Max to make her feel so happy and grateful that she falls in love with me. But life didn't work that way did it? I gritted my teeth and stood up.

"Hey, leaving so soon?" Iggy mumbled through his third cupcake. I didn't reply. I wove through the dancing couples looking for Max. I walked past a young couple and froze. Matt had his hands on Max's face as he kissed her forcefully.

Max's eyes were wide in surprise. Then her eyes became cold and hard as she shoved Matt.

"Get your hands off me you sexist pig!" Max shrieked as she swung her hand back to punch him in the face. But I beat her to it.

**Max's POV**

BAM! Fang's fist connected with Matt's nose. Matt was knocked off his feet. Blood spattered onto Fang's knuckles and clothes. There was silence. Everybody stared at us. Fang was breathing hard and glaring fiercely at Matt. **(A.N. If Fang was a manga character, he would have flames in his eyes.)**

"Why didn't you let me hit him?" I almost whined. Fang looked at me, his eyes deadly.

"Didn't want you to ruin your pretty dress." Matt groaned from the ground, his hand stemming the flow of blood from his nose. Mrs. Collins came charging through the crowd to see what the commotion was. She saw her son on the ground and knelt down to check him.

"What happened to you Matthew darling? Are you hurt? Who did this to you?" She asked worriedly. She looked up and saw Fang and I standing the closest. Her eyes narrowed at the blood on Fang's shirt.

"What happened here?" She asked in a cold tone. Freaky. One minute she was all motherly and protective and now she's all cold and mean. Kind of like me.

"Matthew kissed me against my will. And then Fang broke his nose." I explained quickly.

"You did what?!" Mrs. Collins screeched at Matt, "I am ashamed of you. Go get changed so I can take you to the doctor." Then Mrs. Collins glared at Fang, ignoring me.

"Who gave you the right to hurt my son? He has done nothing to _you_. I -"

"Mrs. Collins," I said, defending Fang, "I was about to do the same –"

"I will not tolerate this!" Mrs. Collins snapped, drowning out my voice. Fang stood their silently, taking all the blame. Anger flooded through me. I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind when Mum and Jeb rushed to the scene.

Mum went over to Mrs. Collins to smooth things over while Jeb place a hand on both of our shoulders and steered us away.

He took us outside and said, "Stay here," He went back inside. Fang and I looked at each other in silence. The only thing that could be heard was the bubbling fountain and a cricket chirping. He looked at me with an apologetic expression.

"Max I –" But I cut him off with a hug. I felt his face pressed into my hair. This was the kind of thing I would normally do for Angel, Nudge or Gazzy but it seemed right for now.

"It's okay Fang," I mumbled over his shoulder. "It's not your fault." My arms tightened around him. We stayed like that until we heard footsteps. We broke apart as the rest of the flock came confused.

"What happened Max? Jeb just told us that we were leaving soon." Iggy said.

I glanced at Fang who nodded slightly and said, "Matt kissed me so Fang…punched him in the face."

"Nice," Iggy grinned. Just then, Jeb came and took us where his and Mum's cars were parked.

"Dr. Martinez and Ella will be here in a few minutes." He informed us.

We stood there quietly until Jeb said, "Fang, what you did there was very irresponsible. You must be in control of your temper at all times. The Collins are a very respectful family that Valencia and I have known for years. They are losing trust in us –"

"So?" I snarled, "What's the problem? You won't be able to go to anymore dinner parties here. What a shame! Anyway, I was about to punch the jerk but Fang got there before me."

Jeb's face softened, "If _you_ punched him Max, it would be a different case –"

"Why do you treat me special Jeb? I'm just the same as the rest of the flock. Is it because I'm your daughter? Well you're no father to me!" I retorted angrily.

Fang put a restraining hand on my shoulder and whispered, "Don't get into anymore trouble for me." I stood there fuming. The younger kids in the flock were staring wide-eyed at us.

I turned away and found Mum and Ella jogging towards us.

"Mrs. Collins isn't happy but she'll let this one slip." Mum said, "You guys saved the world so she doesn't want to hold a grudge." She then got into the driver's seat of her car. Jeb did the same for his car.

The rest of us looked at each other. Nobody wanted to ride with Jeb. Only Ella climbed into the front passenger seat of his car. Sighing, I got into Jeb's car and Fang followed.

The ride home was about half an hour. Ella and Jeb were talking softly in the front while Fang and I sat silently at the back. I watched Fang take something out of his pocket. It was a charm.

"For you," Fang said softly, handing me the charm. I attached it to the bracelet Angel gave me. A smooth, black, stone dangled next to the angel. Of course it suited him – Mr. Emotionless _Rock_. I smiled. It was beautiful, just like the necklace he gave me.

"Why so many presents?" I whispered curiously.

"You deserve them." Fang replied, looking at his feet. He looked back at me, his expression unreadable.

"We'll always be best friends, no matter what right?"

"Always," Fang smiled his heart-stopping smile and got out of the car. I hadn't even noticed the car had stopped.

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**That took a looong time! I want to add someone later on in the story to make Max jealous. Should I add Lissa, Brigid or someone original? Tell me in your opinions in your reviews. Until next time. GOODBYE! (That sounds kind of cheesy)**


	8. Shopping Chaos

**Hi guys! So sorry I haven't posted for a while. School's started again but I've started to get into a routine.**

**I will probably post a chapter every weekend so keep an eye out.**

**By the way, I've just worked out where this story's going to go and how it's going to end. There's a lot of stuff that's going to happen. Maybe I'll post an excerpt of the last chapter in a few weeks if I get lots of reviews. =D**

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**Max's POV**

"Okay, we'll meet up in front of Wendy's at 3 o'clock." Mum told the flock and Ella.

It's the next day and we were all standing at the entrance of the shops. You could probably imagine my reaction when I heard we were going to the mall. (Need help? Picture me on my knees screaming, "Nooooo!)

"Oh, one more thing," Mum said, "Don't be late. Jeb's coming home at 4 o'clock with some good news. Have fun!"

Angel's hand tightened around mine at the word 'news'. I looked at her curiously but she just gave me a sweet smile. Mum, Nudge and Ella immediately set off to the nearest clothing store. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy ambled away after Fang gave me one of his famous half smiles which made my heart skip a beat. My eyes stared at his retreating figure curiously. Since when did Fang smile for no reason? I shrugged and looked down at Angel who was playing with my charm bracelet.

"The charm Fang gave you is pretty but I think your bracelet needs more than two charms." Angel told me.

"I was thinking the same thing, though you probably already knew that right?" I replied grinning, "Can you take me to the shop where you got me this bracelet?"

Angel nodded and started walking fast with me tagging along. People stared at us wondering why we looked so familiar but by the time they realized that we were the amazing bird kids on the news, we were gone. Angel stopped at a pet store to see the puppies on display.

I leaned against the wall glaring as a crowd started to build up around us. There were mainly teenagers but there were a couple of adults and kids there as well. They were whispering amongst themselves and sneaking glances at me and Angel. I groaned internally and glanced at Angel who was absorbed in a Dalmatian. I sighed and closed my eyes as the questions began.

"Aren't you part of the flock?"

"Do you really have wings?"

"Fang's blog is awesome!"

"Hey! You're Maximum Ride!"

"Do you have super powers?" "Can I have your autograph?"

"Where's Fang? I want to see him. He is so dreamy!"

My eyes snapped open and flashed angrily at the curly, red haired girl (not surprisingly) who had made the last comment. A guy with a green baseball cap looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Don't you read Fang's blog?" He demanded, "He says that he's already in love with Mmmph!"

His friend clamped a hand over his mouth and hissed, "Dude, Fang's blog says that he doesn't want her to know until _he_ tells her."

They both gave me meaningful looks. My eyes grew wide. Who does Fang love? Angel gave me an isn't-it-obvious look.

"You Max," She sighed exasperatedly. "Fang loves you!"

My mind started spinning. Fang loved me? Why does he put that kind of stuff on a blog anyway? But more importantly, Fang really loved me? No Max. You already decided that your friendship with Fang is not worth risking. I felt a pang of sadness wash over me as I thought that. Angel frowned at my thoughts. I snapped out of my trance and made a mental note to check Fang's blog one day.

The crowd came closer and I pressed myself to the wall. I wanted to punch and kick my way out of there but I reminded myself that I was in a public place with normal people, not Erasers. Angel sensed my distress because she mentally ordered everyone away. The crowd dispersed with blank looks. Normally I would've scolded Angel for using her mind control but I was glad to get out of there.

Angel towed me towards a small, bright shop with a neon sine which read 'Charm'. **(A.N. I made up this store. There might be a real shop like that out there somewhere but I made this one up.)** I stepped in with my mouth open. Hundreds and thousands of charms filled the room. There were dog charms, cat charms, food charms, and music charms, everything you could think of in miniature form.

On one side of the room hung dozens of different types of bracelets. "Wow," I said in awe. I looked down at my bracelet and decided to get a charm that reflects the personalities of the people I cared about. Angel bounded off behind a shelf eagerly. Hmm, I've already got charms for Angel and Fang.

Who next? Iggy. Definitely a bomb charm. The store had shelves, each with a letter of the alphabet. I went to the 'B' shelf and searched for a bomb. I came across a small, round, black bomb with a small string like those ones in cartoons. Perfect, now who's next? Gazzy. Oh but he's also a pyromaniac. Well he's my little trooper. I found a tiny soldier charm. Angel popped up next to me holding a microphone charm.

"Nudge," We both said at the same time.

Angel giggled and said, "Now you find a charm for your Mum and I'll find one for Ella."

I nodded and concentrated. The first words that come to mind when I think of Mum are chocolate chip cookies so I immediately looked on the 'C' shelf. As soon as I found the right charm, Angel came back with a soccer ball charm.

"Ella loves to play soccer." She explained.

Okay, I have charms for the flock, Mum and Ella. Who else?

"Jeb," Angel stated.

I frowned. I don't care about Jeb the traitor.

"You do care about him. Anyway he helped us stop Itex." Angel said matter-of-factly.

I sighed, "Fine but only because you said so."

I chose a tiny, mad scientist with crazy hair, white coat (shudder) and glasses. Ha, the flock would get a kick out of that. So that's everyone.

"No," Angel said, "You forgot Total."

I chuckled. Hmm, Total would be insulted if I got a doggy bone for him.

"Total loved France because of the restaurants that allow dogs." Angel suggested.

Yes, I know, the Eiffel Tower. I picked up a mini Eiffel Tower and Angel smiled. I payed for them all with my Max card. Then Angel helped me clip them all on my bracelet. There were nine charms in all. There was a large gap between Angel and Fang's charms. I needed one more to make ten.

I looked down to ask Angel's opinion and saw her concentrating face. She was telepathically communicating with someone. Suddenly she sprinted to the front entrance. I followed and looked out the doorway in shock. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy were running full speed at us chased by an angry mob of mall cops with torn clothes, ice cream on their faces and feathers in their hair. Boys will be boys.

**Gazzy's POV**

Fang, Iggy and I sneaked behind the boogie boards in the surf shop.

"Have you got Smokey Joe?" Iggy asked me.

"Yep," I said, and patted the smoke bomb in my pocket.

I handed it to Iggy who quickly planted it under a clothes rack. Fang gave Iggy and me a trademark Max glare but luckily didn't say anything. He's no fun anymore. He's been hanging around Max too much. I pulled out three gasmasks from my back pack and we put them on.

I whispered, "3, 2, 1,"

There was a whoosh and loud thuds as everyone in the shop passed out. People in line to pay, dropped to the ground like dominos. The cashier's face landed on the cash register, making a loud 'cha-ching!' sound.

"That was awesome! I wish you could see this!" I said to Iggy.

"Don't worry, it's music to my ears."

"Oi! You three! What have you done?"

Oh man, a mall cop! A bald man with a big, bushy moustache peered through to window.

"Run!" I yelled, "Get into that go-kart thing that cops ride in! Twenty degrees east Iggy!"

Iggy dashed through the side door and hopped into the car.

"Wait, where's Fang?"

I turned around and saw a huge mob of security guards enter the room. Fang pushed a clothes rack and sent it toppling over them. I exchanged high fives with him as we raced to the car. I jumped in as Iggy turned it on. There was a loud screech as we sped off with the angry officers on our tail. Iggy was behind the driver's wheel which turned out to be a bad idea.

"Iggy, turn LEFT!" I yelled.

"Ow, you're hurting my ears!" Iggy shouted, oblivious to the fact we were heading for a man holding a giant, chocolate cake.

Mmmm. Fang leaned forward and yanked the steering wheel left. My hand was inches away from the cake so I couldn't resist – I scooped off the icing.

"Yum," I said, licking my finger.

"Phew," Fang said, sitting back in his seat as Iggy took control again.

"You know, I've always wanted to ride in one of these." Iggy said thoughtfully as we drove through a stack of pillows.

"Wooo!" I shouted as feathers showered the cops.

The cops emerged with furious looks on their faces.

"Step on it Ig," Fang said in a low voice.

"I'm going as fast as I can! Gazzy, do you have any more bombs?" Iggy replied.

"Nope, I barely had room for Smokey Joe."

"I say we ditch this car. We can run faster and the cops are gaining on us." Woah, did Fang say all that?

Iggy and I nodded. Fang took the wheel and swerved the car behind a crowd. We all jumped out and started sprinting. Max is so gonna kill us. I saw the astonished faces of the people we passed and laughed. But this was so worth it.

"We're losing them." Fang noted.

Sure enough, they were fading away.

"That was almost too easy." I said confused.

"Think again." The head cop stepped in front of me, his face bright red.

So I did what I do best. Pass gas. The man started coughing and choking while I cackled madly.

"Gazzy!" Iggy groaned as we started running again.

We passed Wendy's and suddenly we were surrounded. Sure we could easily fight our way out but these were innocent people, not Erasers or M-geeks. Then I saw Fang's lips twitch in his version of a devious grin. The mall cops glared at us angrily and stepped towards us. Then they got the shock of their lives – Fang disappeared. They all gasped and one of them even shrieked like a girl. Pitiful.

Iggy tugged on the hem of my jacket, "What's going on?"

"Fang's demonstrating one of his special abilities."

I whispered, quiet enough that the cops couldn't hear. I watched as two ice creams which were on the counter started floating. They paused for a second and suddenly launched into two of the mall cops' faces. I looked at the head cop's dripping face and cracked up laughing. His expression was priceless!

I saw Fang appear out of the corner of my eye, laughing hard. Okay, maybe Max hasn't rubbed off too much on Fang. Iggy sniffed the air and made a face.

"Gross! Who eats peanut butter and banana ice cream?" He yelled before we started running off again.

We were much faster than them but they knew the mall better than us. They probably knew some handy shortcuts too; otherwise they wouldn't be hot on our tail. We passed a hair salon when I recognised the shop that Angel and Max had gone into earlier.

'_Angel!' I shouted mentally, hoping she was nearby. _

'_What's wrong Gazzy?' _

'_Um we're kind of in a sticky situation.' _

The three of us bolted towards the store as Angel and Max appeared in the doorway. Angel was concentrating hard while Max had a shocked expression which was quickly replaced by a death glare. I gave her a nervous grin. I'm pretty sure we didn't wreck _every_ shop in the mall. I think.

**Max's POV**

Boy was I angry! Can't those guys do anything without getting into trouble? I glared at Gazzy's nervous grin and Iggy's carefree smirk but softened at Fang. At least he had the decency to look ashamed. I put my hands up as they reached Angel and me.

"I don't even want to know." I said, frowning.

The guards were still running towards us, about thirty metres away, with murderous faces. What had those guys done? I stepped forward to deal with them when Angel intercepted, a determined glint in her blue eyes.

"Angel, don't do it." I said in a deadly which would have stopped any normal person in their tracks.

But Angel was far from normal. She tuned her head to look at me, her blonde curls like a halo that didn't belong.

"No,"

Angel turned her focus back to the mall cops and before I could say another word, they froze. The cops looked at us with strangely blank expressions then walked off in different directions. One of them walked into an old lady with a shopping trolley who started to repeatedly hit him with her handbag. I could hear Gazzy and Fang's silent laughter from behind me but ignored them.

"Go inside," I said in a low voice, leading them into a corner of the shop. I glanced around and found that there was no one else in the shop and the shop keeper had gone into the back room. So no one had seen that last scene. Except that feisty, old lady. I turned around to face the rest and studied their expressions.

Gazzy's eyes were fearful, Iggy's face was patient, Angel was pouting and Fang was the only one looking me straight in the eye. His face was unreadable as always. I decided to start with Angel.

"Angel, how many times have I told you to not use your mind control unless we're in danger. It's not right to take away someone's will away like that. Besides, the boys need to learn to deal with their problems without having to resort to powers." I ranted on while watching the shopkeeper come back to the counter.

Angel let me finish and gave me and angelic smile. I let out a frustrated groan. I turned to the male half of the flock.

"What happened?" I said flatly, scanning outside the window.

Gazzy spoke up, "Well, we planted a smoke bomb which made everyone in the sure shop pass out the –"

"YOU WHAT?" I shrieked, causing the shopkeeper and a couple walking through the door to stare at me.

"Don't worry, it only last for six minutes though they may suffer from slight dizziness." Iggy put in hastily, trying to appease me.

His eyes were locked onto my forehead.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better how?" I said acidly, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes.

After a moment, I nodded for them to continue.

"Then the mall cops chased us around. We upset a few shops."

"Don't lie, we trashed at least half the mall!"

"Shut up Gazzy!" Iggy and Fang groaned.

I opened my eyes and said, "I'll deal with this at home. You're all in serious trouble, including you Angel. Stay here, all of you so I can watch you. I'm not mentioning this to Mum though. I want to spare her the heart attack."

Iggy and Gazzy grumbled, Angel wasn't looking at me and Fang just shrugged. I sat down on a bench in the corner as the rest of them milled around the shop. I put my face in my hands and let out a muffled groan. I hated shopping trips. They were such a nightmare. I felt someone warm sit down next to me.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop them." Fang's deep voice was gentle and apologetic. "But you should let them have fun once in a while."

"This isn't what normal kids do fun." I burst out.

"They were never normal kids Max." Fang said softly.

I peeked sideways at him through my fingers. Fang was looking down at his hands, anxious. He looked at me and noticed my bracelet.

"Each charm represents a person that I care about." I told him.

He started to guess which charm represented who. Fang identified his, Angel's, Mum's, Nudge's and Ella's quickly. His fingers were gentle, and sent electric currents through me.

"Gazzy?" He asked, indicating the bomb.

"Iggy," I corrected.

He found Gazzy's and Total's charms. Then he stared at the mad scientist, puzzled.

"It's Jeb,"

I told him. Fang raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. He let go of my hand. I twitched, wanting to keep my hand in his warm one but gritted my teeth. Friends only, I reminded myself. It was getting harder to express my feelings for Fang.

I twisted my hand, making the charms jingle and said, "There are nine charms. I want to add one more but I don't know who I should put."

Fang smiled, making my world spin faster, "You've forgotten the most important person."

I gave him a questioning look.

"You,"

I grimaced, "Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten the star of the show. What charm should I have Sherlock?"

"A sun,"

"Why?"

He didn't answer. He stared at his shoes, his cheeks going slightly pink. No way! Fang was blushing?! Just then, Angel's voice entered my head.

'_Aww, Fang thought of something so sweet. He thought you were like the sun because you light up his world.' _

My heart leapt at those words but I replied gruffly, _'Stay out of our heads Angel.'_

Angel gave me a cheeky smile and went off to Gazzy and Iggy. Fang's dark eyes found mine and they were intense.

"Max, I-I l-"

Fang started before Iggy marched towards us complaining, "Can we go eat something? It's almost 3 o'clock."

I agreed and glanced at Fang's impassive face. It looked like he had not intention of telling me what he was going to say before at the moment. I quickly bought a sun charm before leaving and clipped it onto my bracelet between my two favourite flock members – Fang and Angel. Though I would never admit that to anyone else.

* * *

**I think my hands will never fully recover again after writing this chapter. My parents are scolding me to do my homework. Bye for now, not forever. (That quote is from the show Rollercoaster if any of you watch Aussie TV)**


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